FFVII FanFic: The Trouble with Cards and Drugs
by LilNanny
Summary: Cloud is a detective who is trying to track down Sephiroth, creator of a deadly drug called the Final Fantasy.
1. Cloud

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII

* * *

**The Trouble with Cards and Drugs**

Chapter 01

Cloud

…a young detective on his way to work that Friday morning. He was sipping his coffee why walking in a half jog sort of way. He was wondering if his boss would ever give him "big boy" missions instead of the lackey one.

"I shouldn't complain." Said Cloud to himself, "What I get is better then nothing. I'm alive and well, I should be happy."

He looked down at his watch. Five till nine.

"Crap, I'm running late." He mumbled to himself and picked up his pace.

* * *

Cloud rushed through the doors. Clouds boss, Cid, was sitting at his desk looking over some papers.

"Sir, I…" Cloud began.

"Mister Srife!" Cid drew out the "I" sound and ended with a hard "f". His voice was not pleasant at all. He was pissed. "Late, late, late, late! Is it that hard to get to work on time? You should be glad I haven't fired your sorry butt."

"I was…" began Cloud again.

"At the coffee shop, I know. I bet you were chatting with girls there, weren't you. We have a business to run, we do not have time for your…your…your playboy hobbies."

Cid got up from the desk and walked over to the filing cabinets that lined the wall. He open one of the drawls and crammed the papers he was just looking at into it.

"Plus, coffee ain't that good for you. It rots your teeth."

"Like alcohol is any better." Said Cloud under his breath.

Cloud started to walk towards his own desk when Cid shouted, "Hey! Srife! I'm not done talking to you. Sit!" Cid pointed at the little chair in front of his desk.

Cloud unhesitating, obeyed and sat down.

"What is it?" asked Cloud.

"It is Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth!" Cloud know right away that something bad has gone down, "Drat, not him again. I thought we stopped all this half a year ago."

"Sephiroth does not go down that easily. He can't be stopped by a little grade school fight. Gosh darn it! This man wants a war! And this time he got a weapon." Cid began to lean in close to Cloud's face.

"A weapon…?" mumbled Cloud.

"A new drug." Said Cid in a horse whisper while he inched closer and closer to Clouds face, "A drug called the Final Fantasy."

Cid's face was so close that Cloud could see his reflection clearly in Cid's eyes. Cloud could also smell the stench of cigarettes and whisky in Cid's breath.

"Final…? Fantasy…?"

Cid stood up straight and started pacing around the office. "The Final Fantasy is some sort of psychiatric drug made my Sephiroth and his boys. It causes the user to hallucinate or what not. But these ain't visions of sugar plums and lollipops, they're demonic and twisted. And when the vision is over, the user dies. People receive the drug by injection. It only takes a little to kill someone. Sephiroth is a sick and twisted man; he must be stopped!"

"The final vision, the final hallucination, the Final Fantasy! I get it now." Thought Cloud to himself.

"Srife, I need you to do some under cover work and try to get some dirt on Sephiroth and the Final Fantasy."

"Yes sir!" Said Cloud, "I will do whatever it takes to take down Sephiroth."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's great Srife." Said Cid in a scruffy voice. "…You start tonight."

Tonight! …gulp.

* * *

To be continued.


	2. Cloud 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII

* * *

**The Trouble with Cards and Drugs**

Chapter 02

Cloud

…shivered in the cold November air as he stood outside a bar called The Blue Chocobo. Cloud's eyes were hypnotized by a blue neon sign above the door that had an animation of a chocobo running. He stared at the light show until his eyes got sore.

"In, out, don't make a scene. In, out, don't make a scene. In, out, don't make a scene…" Cloud whispered over and over until the words sounded like, "Un ou tone mayka zeen."

He took a deep breath and walked into the bar.

He became bombarded with the sights and sounds of the place. One corner a jukebox was playing, _bum bum bing bum bum bum_, over and over again. People were all over the place. Some in chairs, some on tables, some sitting on the floor. Everyone seemed to be wearing the brightest color like reds, oranges, and yellow. Men and women were dancing in the center of the bar. One woman had bells on her ankles, which went, _clink clink _every time she took a step. A group of men in the back started bursting out laughing. A waiter slapped a guy. People were hugging. People were singing. Cursing. Spitting. Drinking. Stomping. Living!

Cloud navigated through the insanity. He found stool in front of the counter where all the colorful glass bottles of alcohol were lined up.

"Excuses me, waitress." Cloud shouted while waving his hands back and forth like a fool. "Excuses me! EXCUSES ME! WAITRESS!"

"Will you wait! I'm only one person!" yelled a brunette waitress in a white and red dress.

"Wait a second," thought Cloud to himself, "that voice. No it can't be!"

"Tifa?"

The waitress turned around and her large doll-like eyes met Clouds in a sweet reunion.

"No….no…no…Cloud? What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"Well I asked first."

"Fine, I'm here for…uh…work."

A man sitting next to Cloud snorted. His hair hung over his face like rotting seaweed. His skin looked like melting wax. His blood, red, sleepless eyes stared at Cloud and Tifa.

Tifa leaned in close to Cloud and whispered in his ear, "We can't talk here. Lets go into the kitchen, it will be quiet there."

Cloud and Tifa went into the kitchen. They then went into a room that stored vegetables. Tifa offered Cloud a seat on a bag of potatoes and beets.

"What are you doing here?" asked Tifa again to Cloud.

"What do you know about Sephiroth?"

"Sephiroth! Oh-no, no, no, Cloud. Sephiroth is a very evil man. He'll kill you in a heartbeat if he finds out you were investigating. Cloud please don't do this."

"What do you know about the drug called the Final Fantasy?"

" Why are you doing this Cloud?"

"It's my job, Tifa. If I don't do it, I will get fired."

"Then get fired! At least you will be alive."

"I can't do that Tifa." Cloud paused then asked again, "What do you know about the Final Fantasy?"

Tifa didn't respond. She stared off into a corner of the room. Her eyes were still. Her face was sad but she was not crying.

"Ah! You're no help."

Cloud got up and exited the vegetable room, but before he could make two steps he heard some one shout, "That's him!".

Then everything went black.

* * *

To be continued.


	3. Sephiroth

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII

* * *

**The Trouble with Cards and Drugs**

Chapter 03

Sephiroth

Sephiroth

Sephiroth

Sephiroth

With a face like an angel and a body like a god yet a heart like a lump of the coal.

Cloud started to wake up. His head hurt, his mouth tasted like vomit. He was tied against a wall. Heavy metal bars kept him from falling onto the floor. He looked up. His eyes met with Sephiroth's who hovered over Clouds.

"Hello Mr. Strife. We meet again, no?" Sephiroth said sweetly.

"What's going on?" asked Cloud still feeling dizzy.

"Ha ha, isn't it obvious? One of my boys knocked you out when you were at that one bar. They then brought you to me. I heard you've been poking your little nose where it doesn't belong. So boy, what have you found out about me?"

"I haven't found out anything. You got me all wrong. I went to that bar to talk to an old friend." Lied Cloud.

Sephiroth's sweet face then began to morph into a wrinkled beast. "LIAR!" He yelled, he showed his teeth like a wild dog, "YOU KNOW THAT BAR IS MINE! YOU WERE LOOKING FOR DIRT….no?" His face then melted back into an innocent angel.

"No."

Sephiroth was pissed, "Bring be the vile." He yelled at one of his men. One of them left and came back with a tiny vile and a syringe.

"Beautiful." Said Sephiroth as he picked them up and stuck the syringe in the vile. The syringe then started to fill up with a weird blue liquid.

"W—what is that?" Cloud felt a hard lump in the pit of his stomach, "Is th—that it? Is th—that the Final Fantasy?" Sweat started to roll down his brow.

"Oh my. Dear boy, I guess you do know something, no?"

"Please sir, don't kill me. I am just a pawn in this game. I'm just dong what I am told."

"No, no, no boy, I'm not going to kill you. Not now. I'm going to play with you. But this game ain't chess. It's a card game. Ha, you know like War or Black Jack or Old Maid."

Cloud had a hard time understanding what Sephiroth was talking about. Card game? What was going through Sephiroth's mind? What was he thinking?

"He's going to play with me." Thought Cloud to himself, "He is going to mess with my mind like he did last time. I must stay strong. I'm doing this for everyone. For this town and the world and Cid and …Tifa. Tifa I love you."

"Now let's begin." Sephiroth clapped twice and the whole room started to shift and transform. The walls moved away and the floor rose up. The piece of wall that Cloud was tied to stayed in one place apart from the main wall. Cloud and Sephiroth were positioned on opposite sides on the room on pillars. Each pillar had a table with glowing rectangles on it. In the middle of the table was a deck of cards facing down.

"That is your card deck Strife." Sephiroth said, his voice was projected over a speaker of some sort. "I have one too. Oh Stirfe, lets make this fun. I love this game so much but I can't find anyone to play it with."

Cloud looked at Sephiroth with a stern face.

"Pick seven card from the top of the deck and let's begin."

"Darnit, what am I suppose to do?" thought Cloud to himself, "Do I do nothing and risk getting injected with the Final Fantasy? Or do I play his silly game and have him toy with my mind?"

"What's wrong Srife? You count to seven, no?

Cloud, still being tied up, reached for the deck. Because he was still tied up, he could only move the area between his elbow and his wrist. He grabbed seven cards off the top of the deck.

"Good boy Strife." Said Sephiroth with an angelic smile. "Good boy."

* * *

To be continued


	4. Sephiroth 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any type of playing card games (such as Yugioh, Pokemon, Magic, Duel Monsters, etc.)

* * *

**The Trouble with Cards and Drugs**

Chapter 04

Sephiroth

…was having a happy giggly fit while Cloud struggled to hold his Clouds and accidently dropped two of them on the ground.

Sephiroth placed one of his cards on his table and it began to glow. A strange field that stretched between Cloud and Sephiroth also began to glow. A fuzzy image of an archangel appeared on the field near Sephiroth. The image had scratches and snow and did a slight flicker "dance" ever few seconds. The room filled with an electronically buzz that sounded like a microphone that was on but not being used.

"Isn't it amazing, no?" asked Sephiroth. "It's called a hologram and it is the future."

"I won't be fooled by your silly illusions! I will…" said Cloud.

"Your turn my boy." interrupted Sephiroth.

Cloud picked a card from his hand and placed it on one of the glowing squares on his table. The table and field began to glow again and a female elf holding a large spear appeared in front of Cloud.

"Is that it?" asked Sephiroth.

"Yes I believe so." Responded Cloud.

"Good." A huge grin appeared across Sephiroth's face, "Archangel! Attack the Spear Elf!"

The archangel flickered forwards and did a somewhat of a karate chop at the elf. The elf flung backwards in an over dramatic falling pose then vanished.

Sephiroth then began to laugh. He laughed and laughed. He laughed until he could barely talk or breath.

"What's so funny?" asked Cloud, who had no idea what just happened.

"My gosh Strife! It's called having fun, no? I'm just so happy because I am winning! I'm winning! I'm winning!"

"Fun?" thought Cloud to himself, "Fun is going to the coffee shop early in the morning to flirt with Yuffie. Fun is chasing down Chocobos to ride. Fun is throwing Cactaurs at Vincent and seeing him scream 'Ew, ew, ew, it's like totally stuck in my hair!' THIS on the other hand, is not fun."

"Sephiroth, you are only winning because I have no idea how to play." Said Cloud aloud (lol), "It's not fair, I don't know the rules."

"You never asked."

"Oh didn't I, fine! So Sephiroth, how do you play your wield little game."

"I'm not telling you." Sephiroth then went into another one of his laughing fits.

"GEZ," thought Cloud to himself, "it seems that I have to figure this out on my own. It can't be too hard, can it?"

Sephiroth placed another card on his table. A merman that looked like Neptune appeared on the field.

"Your turn, Strife."

Cloud picked a green genie woman. He placed it on the table and she appeared on the field.

"Genie! Go and attack the Archangel!" yelled Cloud.

The genie jumped up and did a spin kick into the archangel's face. The archangel flew sideways into the merman then vanished. The merman image became extremely static. The image wobbled back and forth. The static noise turned into a sharp squeak that sent chills down Cloud's spine. When everything calmed down, all that was left of the merman was his silhouette filled with static snow.

"Good Mighty! You glitched my merman. Darn you Strife, you can't do that!" Sephiroth's hand dived into one of his front pockets, "I was expecting to do this later, but you leave me no choose. I cannot lose to you! I cannot lose!"

Sephiroth held up a pen like object and clicked the top of it with his thumb. A robot arm appeared on Cloud's left. It had a syringe on the end that was filled with the Final Fantasy drug.

"No Sephiroth! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! Please don't kill me!" pleaded Cloud.

"Quit your fusing boy! It's watered down, so the effects will be mild. If you continue to displease me, I will shoot you up again. Continue after that, I will shoot you again and again. After several shots, you will understand the drug's true power. Am I clear, no?"

Cloud didn't answer. His attention was fixed on the needle that was pushing up against his upper left arm.

"Oh God help me. Dear God save me."

The needle broke the skin.

* * *

To be continued


	5. 1st Injection

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any type of playing card games (such as Yugioh, Pokemon, Magic, Duel Monsters, etc.)

* * *

**The Trouble with Cards and Drugs**

Chapter 05

The First Injection

…was quick. The arm pulled away and Cloud slowly opened his eyes. He looked around him and all seemed normal.

"So how is it?" asked Sephiroth in his angelic voice.

Cloud paused for a second then said, "Ha! Sephiroth, it's a dud."

Sephiroth replied with a smile. He took a card from the top of his deck and said, "Strife, you silly boy. Oh how little you know."

Sephiroth placed down a card, a lion/bull/man appeared on the stage. The image was glitched up. The head of the creature kept disappearing.

"With Lamassu on the field, my defense increases fifty percent and your field decrease fifty percent." Said Sephiroth.

"Are you going to attack?" asked Cloud.

"Oh-no, not yet, I want to see what happens. Your turn Strife."

Cloud looked down at his cards in his hand. He then noticed that something was not right. There was a mouth on his right hand. It looked a lot like Sephiroth's mouth. Cloud screamed, flinging his card across the room.

"Hahaha! Something wrong Strife?" Sephiroth and the lips said in sync.

"No, I just thought I saw a gloom widow on my finger. I guess it was just a piece of fuzz." Said Cloud nervously back.

"Gloom widows! I guess the drug is working, no?" said Sephiroth and the lips.

Cloud took a card from the top of his deck and placed it down on his table. A thin pale woman appeared on the field. Sephiroth looked shocked.

"How did the Moon Witch get in your deck? Drat!"

"Moon Witch! Attack the Lamassu!"

The Moon Witch waved her arms and the Lamassu exploded. Hundreds of little gloom widows flew everywhere.

"AH! Get them away! Get them away!" screamed Cloud. He tried to cover his face but his tied up arms would not reach up high enough.

"Get what away?" asked Sephiroth and the lips.

"Don't you see them? The gloom widows are everywhere!"

Sephiroth and the lips then laughed. Sephiroth laughed and laughed until he fell on the floor. "Hahaha…I can't breath…hahaha."

After a few minutes, he stood up; his face was bright red. He was breathing hard, letting out a last few chuckles.

"My, my Strife. You are quiet amusing, no?" said Sephiroth like a happy child.

Then in a matter of seconds, Sephiroth's face changed into a horrible evil look.

"While this was quit amusing, we should not forget that you did defeat my Lamassu." Sephiroth and the lips said in a very pissed off voice.

He held up the pen object and pressed the top.

"Hum." Was the lasted thing Sephiroth said before the arm and needle appeared.

Cloud squinted.

The needle pierced the skin.

A buzzing sound filled the air.

* * *

To be continued.


End file.
